You’ve received an official offer letter and signed your contract for a new position. While you’re working your notice period and preparing for handover, your employer approaches you with a counteroffer. Now, you have to decide whether or not to take it.
In Investment Management, especially for people with in-demand or niche skillsets and experienced/senior hiring, you may well be headhunted specifically for a role. With that comes the opportunity for a better remuneration package. Since this is often the core reason someone would consider leaving a position, it makes sense that a counteroffer may be enough to sway your decision. After all, this would mean more financial gain without having to adjust to a new organisation.
However, accepting a counteroffer might not always be the best decision. If there’s not a sole reason for your resignation, you’re likely to have experienced passive, underlying issues that would’ve subconsciously swayed your opinion on your current position.
No doubt, these issues won’t go away and will therefore make the counteroffer a short-term solution. After all, statistics show four out of five people who accept counteroffers leave within a year.
Here are our top five reasons why accepting a counteroffer is never a good idea:
1. Your salary will change, but nothing else will
Your company will offer you more money, but they’re unlikely to change any of the underlying issues that prompted you to look for something else. By opting for the new job offer, you will have been offered a solution to these underlying challenges – or, at the very least, a new opportunity.
2. Stepping out of your comfort zone is liberating
If your new job doesn’t work out, what’s the worst that can happen? Stepping out of your comfort zone is exciting and allows you to push yourself to new heights. Staying with your current employer may feel safe but trying something new could give you the job satisfaction you want and deserve.
3. Know your worth
If your employer offers you more money when you have threatened to leave, they obviously weren’t paying you what you were worth in the first place. If you’re considering taking another job with a different company, you’ve probably been offered a salary you’re happy to take.
4. Chances are the trust has already been broken
Resignation is often viewed as a lack of loyalty by employers. Your current workplace may question your intentions for staying with them, and it could limit future growth. Plus, if your current employer needs to make any future redundancies, your “lack of loyalty” could put you at the top of the pile.
5. You probably won’t stay for long
Research shows that those who accept counteroffers usually stay with their current employer for only three extra months. On average, 80% of people reignite their job search within this time frame. Cut out extra time finding another job and take the one that caught your eye initially.
If you’re still keen on taking the counteroffer, it’s a good idea to get everything proposed by your current employer in writing. You should also end things on a good note with your potential future employer and recruiter. That way, you can keep the door open.
For more information and advice on counteroffers, contact Berkeley Croft today.